Barry Lewis: Weekend warriors have become weekend workers

Bet you're finding it pretty relaxing, huh? Stretched out on a hammock. Lounging by the pool. Maybe a few rounds of golf with your friends.

Just kicking back and enjoying the summer sun. A nice getaway from work.

Good for you.

But are you really getting away from work?

Oh sure, you think you're relaxing, but you're not relaxing as much as you used to. Truth is, you can't really relax because you're so antsy to do some work. You may think you don't want to do work on the weekend — but you do. It's OK, you're not alone.

A new study has found Americans actually have cut back on relaxing. Even watching less TV. Instead, we're spending more time working on weekends.

That's according to the 2010 American Time Use Survey, released by the Labor Department, which says the free time we do have on weekends is spent cooking and cleaning.

Makes you want to put down the grill scrubber and get take-out food.

The survey also shows work-life changes since 2009 affected women more than men. Employed women, who historically have worked fewer hours than men, are catching up as the hours men work are decreasing.

The study found women worked more hours overall than they did two years ago. That's the good part. On the flip side, women also are working more on weekends.

While employed men still work about 40 minutes more a day than women, the average employed woman spends seven hours and 26 minutes a day doing work or work-related activities — more than 10 minutes more than last year. What you wouldn't do to get back those 10 minutes.

On the other hand, the average guy spends eight hours and nine minutes doing work or related activities, several minutes less than last year.

What, you ask, are those work-related activities that guys are doing? Would you believe golf games with clients and business lunches? That's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

No one said this was fair.

Wonder where you stack up with the average American worker? Survey says:

35 percent of us work on weekends. On average, we work about 5½ hours. More than half of sales workers work on weekends. Weekend duty is a fact of life for only 20 percent of administrative personnel. 82 percent of employed Americans work on weekdays, either full or part time. The average workday is 7.9 hours Mondays through Fridays. 24 percent of Americans did some or all of their work at home. Self-employed people were three times more likely to do work at home. More than half of those with more than one job work on weekends, compared with about one-third of those with just one job. Nearly 40 percent of those with more than one job work at home.

This survey comes courtesy of the Labor Department. Now there's a group of folks who really don't know what to do with their time.